A Threat from the Past
by masterryan005
Summary: Taking place in the middle of Book Three: Fire, Aang and company continue on their path to rid the world of Fire Lord Ozai. On the way, he comes across a group of powerful benders with a plan to defeat the Fire Nation once and for all...but is it right?
1. Prologue

(Okay, this is my very first fanfic. I've had this idea rolling around in my mind for a while, so I thought I'd begin writing it. Be honest in reviews so I can get better. It's based on the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe, and this particular chapter is set about 50 years before Aang was discovered. The Aang gang will show up in later chapters

UPDATE: Okay, I already have a problem. For some ungodly reason, I can't put some kind of line or bar or anything to indicate when the story kind of skips forward a little bit. I'm trying to fix it, so just bare with me. It's fairly obvious when these skips occur anyway.)

Prologue

Bai Ren Yi was pacing back and forth, constantly going over the plan in his head. He and his advisors at the base were fairly confident in the idea, but Bai was still having his doubts. Only the spirits know what may happen if the project were to be pushed this far forward. If it were up to Bai, he would allow the project to go at the original pace that was intended when the project began.

Unfortunately, time was not on Bai or his team's side. The Fire Nation had been pushing forward for months, and plenty of Earth Kingdom territory was already under their imperialistic control. Bai didn't see why this should've mattered, though. The Earth Kingdom should be able to take care of itself for a few extra months or years while they take their time with the project. Sadly, the decision was already decided by their superiors. The project needed to be pushed ahead of schedule, no matter what.

Bai slowly stopped his pacing and took time to sit down in his chair. Their budget didn't allow much more than what was necessary for the base, so the chair wasn't exactly that kind of comfort needed to calm down. Bai closed his eyes for a minute. He thought back to the beginning, when he was just a simple professor, trying the map the chi patterns of the average Waterbender. He was 30 at the time, 20 years after the war had first started. His mentor and friend, Tian Yao, had recently come back from a long absence, the reason behind which was never known. Tian had explained to Bai about an opportunity to end the war more quickly, an offer that Bai couldn't afford to pass up. The war was already getting bad, and he longed for the days of peace he enjoyed in his youth.

Tian had then explained at the time about a secret project that required brilliant philosophers, healers, benders, and professors from all over the Northern Water Tribe. That was 5 years ago. It was a project to create more effective warriors for the battles to come, which proved far more difficult than originally anticipated. The budget was limited, so as to not hurt the war effort, and the base they were given to carry out their projects was secluded, cold, and small.

Bai's reminiscence was interrupted by his assistant, who had rudely just pushed through the door without knocking.

"What do you want?" Bai asked, annoyed by the assistant's lack of manners.

"I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but we've been given new orders. Another Earth Kingdom city, Rong Bang, has fallen. This gave the Fire Nation their most northern-most port yet. Their ships could now stock up and attack the Water Tribe from there with relative ease. As such, the project's been pushed forward even more. They want us to begin the experiment….tomorrow, if not today."

"What?!" Bai exclaimed, "They already had us push it several months ahead. Pushing it this much could have negative side effects! We're not even sure if P-07 has the mental capacity yet!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but they've threatened that if they don't have a full report on P-07's development by the end of the week, they're going to cut off funding and transport. Let the Fire Nation do with us as they see fit"

"….darn them. Okay, seems we have no choice. Notify the others. I just need to gather my notes and plans. We'll have P-07 ready by tonight. For better or worse."

"Yes sir…", and with that, the assistant left. Bai slammed his fist unto his chair, nearly breaking it. He couldn't stop thinking about what was going to happen. P-07 was the latest Waterbender who had volunteered himself to the project as an experiment, allowing himself to be tested on to improve his power and abilities. Professor Ma and the Healer Ran had last week proposed an interesting idea, one which may take the project to new heights.

Physically speaking, P-07 was ready enough. He was considered a prodigy Waterbender in his youth, and had reached the status of Master at the young age of 16. Bai had no doubt that the body could take it. It was his brain that he was worried about. There was no telling what side effects Ma and Ran's plan could have on his conscious mind. It could drive him insane, make him stupid, turn him into a genius, kill him, the possibilities were endless. Bai wanted to have more time to test P-07 and the plan, working out the bugs and decreasing the danger. But the higher-ups would have none of it. This war needed to be won as quickly as possible, and Bai was in no position to say otherwise. However, he feared that pushing it this far ahead would do more harm than good.

Bai gathered himself, and sighed. There was no helping it, he thought. It's time to do or die. He only hoped P-07 was ready.

s 

The tank was now fully prepared. Assistants were running to and fro, setting everything up for the grand experiment which was coming up in a matter of minutes. Bai looked at everyone. It seems his worries weren't only his own. Everyone seemed scared at the possibilities of pushing the plan this far ahead. Bai took another look at the plan that Ran and Ma had devised. In his own opinion, it was possibly the most amazing idea he'd ever seen. An amazing project, a hybrid of complex science and mystical Waterbending arts, with limitless possibilities, one that would take months, maybe years to perfect. They didn't have years, though. They had to make it work now, or they wouldn't get another shot.

P-07 was just now being brought through the doors. He was a fairly young man, with a muscular build, the dark skin that was custom to those from the Water Tribes, and a shaved head to ensure hair wouldn't get in the way. He'd be taking a big risk, and the moment he stepped into that tank, he couldn't go back. Bai could only imagine the courage that this man had. However, if this worked, it'd pay off big time. The experiment could potentially turn him into the world's strongest Waterbender, rivaling even the Avatar himself, wherever he may be. The first of a hopeful many. If this project worked, they could theoretically make more, an army of super Waterbending warriors. Had this project been given more time, it'd pay off. But their superiors were a short-sighted bunch, and had no time for "ridiculous" virtues like patience.

"Bai, he's ready. We're going to lower him into the tank," said Ma, one of the project's developers and top scientists.

"Prepare to give him the toxins to send him into a comatose state. Have healers suppress the pain as much as possible and clear up his chi paths. We're going to need him as easy to work with as possible if we're going to make this work" explained Bai to his fellow professor.

Ran and her healers began immediately. The tank was filled up with water, specially modified by Master healers, and P-07 was slowly dipped in. As he went in, and the healers were already suppressing his chi paths in the brain to send him into a good, long sleep, he gave one last thumbs up to Bai. Bai simply nodded. He never knew P-07, but he had already won his respect as the bravest man he'd ever met.

"Sir, the experiment has entered a comatose state. Healers are loosening the chi paths now. He'll be ready for the tonics in a few minutes."

Bai nodded. "Good. Have them concentrate on the brain. We need his mind more than anything to be perfect."

Ma slowly turned to his friend. "Bai, I'm sorry this couldn't be under better conditions. I know you wanted to give this project more time."

"No time for that now, Ma. We need to work fast. Give the healers the tonics. Let's not allow that man's courage to be in vain. We're going to make Wei Kuo the strongest Waterbender on this planet."

s 

It has been several hours since the end of the experiment. After the healers were done manipulating and shaping the special tonics into P-07, he was taken to a special holding area, where he was to be taken care of and observed.

The experiment had gone more smoothly than Bai had hoped. P-07 never stirred an inch the whole time, not even a sound. The healers had no trouble with him, and the tonics were set in place exactly as planned. Though only time would tell if it would work, Bai was thinking that maybe he overestimated the time needed for the project, or maybe P-07 was just particular special. Whatever the case, Bai was able to get his first peaceful hours of sleep in days. He was tired after the experiment, and had decided that the report could wait till tomorrow to be written up. It vexed him that he was wrong about things going wrong by pushing the plans ahead, but it didn't bother him. The project was, so far, a success, so he wasn't going to let anything ruin his good mood. He wanted to be happy. Happy for himself, happy for Tian, who had succumbed to the cold a few months ago, happy for everyone involved in the project, and happy for Wei.

Meanwhile, Wei Kuo, also known as P-07, was first beginning to get up from his sleep. He had only been asleep a few hours, so his awakening was slightly surprising to everyone. Ran was the first to approach him.

"Wei, how are you feeling?" Ran asked him, ready to heal if necessary. Wei just stood there, mouth gaping, and grabbed his head. Evidently, the experiment had left him with a bit of a headache. Ran laid him down, and began to heal him. "The headache should be gone now, but you need more rest, boy. Get some sleep. You did well today."

Wei starred at her, not having the strength to speak, and began to try to close his eyes. While he didn't have the strength to even talk, he couldn't find it in him to fall asleep. Ran figured he'd need a little help, and had an idea. She had her assistant fetch some personal items from her room, the one thing that wasn't dedicated to the project that she was allowed to keep. Incense sticks, sticks that when burnt produce a thin smoke that are filled with a calming and beautiful smell. Used to calm the mind in times of turmoil, and could easily help Wei fall asleep.

"Wei, just breathe deeply. This smell will help your head, and let you fall asleep easier." Ran reached for a match to light the incense, and lit it. Wei's eyes opened up widely.

s 

Bai awoke to the sounds of screaming and turmoil. _What was going on_, he thought to himself as he attempted to get out of bed. Last he checked, everything was going great. Ma had run into his room as soon as he got up.

"Ma, what's going on? The alarm's blazing, I hear people screaming, what's happened?!"

"Bai, something's wrong with P-07! He woke up a few minutes ago, perfectly fine, and Ran was just checking up on him. Then, out of nowhere, he just snapped! He killed her right on the spot!"

"….No….No, I knew something like this would happen! Damn those fools! We needed more time! I knew Wei's psychological state was in no condition for this!" Bai sighed. "Send out the guards. We have no choice but to neutralize him."

"We are sending out the guards….they just aren't cutting it!"

"What the heck are you talking about? Those guards are Waterbending Masters, veterans taken straight from the front lines!"

"The experiment….was a success, Bai. Wei's Waterbending is far stronger than before, and it's getting stronger by the minute! He's killing people who have been doing this for decades like they were amateurs! He doesn't show a bit of mercy, I've never seen him like this! He's insane, Bai. Wei's aggressiveness has surpassed what I even believed was possible of a human being…"

"What happened that set him off? Was there anything that might have provoked him to get like this, Ma?!"

"….he saw a flame, Bai. A tiny little match Ran was using to light some incense sticks. At least we know that final tonic worked."

Bai knew fully what Ma spoke of. The project that was being used on Wei consisted of several tonics, specially modified by expert Waterbenders, that would genetically alter Wei's body and abilities. Most of these were simple tonics that would improve chi flows, strengthen muscles, etc. Some were more complex than that. The one that Bai was thinking of was one that specifically altered the mind itself.

Wei was going to be used to fight Firebenders, and thus his aggressiveness was going to need to be at its peak when he fought against them. The final addition in the project would insure Wei's fighting would be at its fiercest whenever he fought the enemy. Bai never thought that it would alter Wei's mind to the point where that aggressiveness would come out at the very sight of fire.

"…I should've known Wei's mind wasn't ready for this. His mind's been too corrupted. We need to kill him here, or we'll regret it if he ever gets out." Bai explained to his friend.

"But how? He's killing everyone, Bai! Last I checked he was making his way towards this side of the base!"

"We'll seal the exit. Try to make sure he never gets out. That way, he'll at least die of starvation." Bai put his arm on Ma's shoulder to comfort his clearly traumatized friend. "Ma, I'm sorry this had to happen. But we have a duty now to make sure that Wei can't hurt anyone else."

"…I understand. Let's go. The Waterbenders should at least be able to hold him off."

With that, stopping only to pick up Bai's journal and notes, Bai and Ma took off towards the only way in or out of the base, a small door connected to the side of the iceberg in which the base was hidden. If they could close it, Wei wouldn't be able to leave the base. As the two ran for the only exit, they could hear screams behind them, brave Waterbenders being mercilessly killed by the insane monster that Wei had become. They tried to not look back, and the one time Bai did, he saw the shadow of a Waterbender being split in two by a powerful water slice.

As the progressed forth, Wei finally began to catch up to them. Ma noticed this and stopped.

"Ma, what are you doing?!" exclaimed Bai. "He'll be here in seconds, we have to move!"

"At this rate, he'll catch us before we get to the exit, Bai. Go on ahead. Close everything behind you, and don't look back. Even if I can only stall him a few seconds, it'll be enough to make sure you get away. MOVE!"

Bai was shocked at this, but deep down, he knew Ma was right. At this rate, Wei was going to catch them, and escape from the base out into the world. He immediately left without a word, without even time to shed tears at his friend's sacrifice. As he kept running ahead, he eventually heard one last scream from behind him. _You won't regret this, Ma_, he thought to himself as he kept running.

He finally made it to the only exit, a large steel door with a large wheel knob in the middle. All he needed to do was block the door from the outside. A simple enough task, as the base had been designed with cases like these in mind. All it took was a few simple turns of the wheel, in a pattern known only to him and the other leaders of the project. The steel door was immediately bolted shut, only to be opened from the outside, and the people on the outside knew that if this thing was bolted close, there was a good reason. Not even Wei with his new found strength will be getting out.

Speaking of which, Wei had finally busted down the door behind Bai. Bai couldn't see him, as Wei had put out every fire, and thus every source of light he came across, and the door was devoid of all light. All he could see was a tall silhouette with gleaming eyes, with water completely engulfing both his arms. It was as if Bai were staring into death itself. Knowing that his end was near, Bai took the pencil from his pocket, and wrote down his final entry into his journal.

_We wanted to create the world's most powerful Waterbender._

_And we succeeded._

And with that, Wei impaled every limb and body part on Bai with giant icicles that he made from his water, and tore him apart like a piece of paper.

It has been 50 years since that day.


	2. Refuges and Rumors

Refuges and Rumors

Aang was looking out over the sea. It had been a long day for everyone in the group. It was only a few more weeks until they had to meet at the rendezvous point that Sokka and his father Hakoda had picked. They were making good time, but the recent trip that the gang took was rather exhausting. It took hours of crossing open ocean to get to this island from the last one, and the whole time they needed to use their Airbending and Waterbending to keep Appa hidden. They had landed on the edge of a cliff on the island when they finally got here. Needless to say, everyone was a bit tired.

It was night when they arrived, so Appa had decided to lay his two-ton butt down for the night. He was already asleep, though the poor bison had to occasionally wake up to keep Momo under control. Sokka was still working on their schedule, trying to make adjustments for the recent delays they've been having. He decided they would sleep for one night to get everyone's strength up, go into the town on the island for a quick bit of supplies, and then get moving by noon tomorrow. Recently, Aang and his friends had discovered that they were being chased by a very deadly assassin, the Combusion Man as dubbed by Sokka, and thus they couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long.

Toph decided to take Appa's example and hit the hay. She was sleeping on the grass without an earth tent. Aang couldn't blame her. The hot weather of the summer would make him burn up inside them, too. Katara wasn't far behind, and after she checked up on Sokka, who kindly ignored her suggestion to get some shut-eye, she came over to check on Aang.

"Hey Aang. You doing okay?" Katara asked him in a gentle voice. Aang couldn't help but smile. No matter how long of a day it is, you can count on Katara to still have a comforting tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm gonna head to bed soon."

"You do that. We have an early start tomorrow, so don't stay up too late."

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna be up for much longer."

"See you in the morning." And with that, Katara made her way to her sleeping bag. As Aang looked back, he could already see Sokka sleeping face down in the maps and schedule. Deciding to take example, Aang quickly laid down on the soft grass and began to close his eyes.

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"Well, this plan sure went off well," Toph stated sarcastically.

The "early start" didn't go off as well as planned. They had woken up later than usual, even Aang, the early-riser of the group. The previous day must've been more tasking than they thought. Sokka wanted to get to town early and get supplies, so as to avoid the late-morning rush. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. They were standing near the back of a line that stretched to the corner of the block and back, waiting to get the last materials they needed for the trip.

"Hey, I wasn't the only one who slept in late!" Sokka retorted.

"Did I say it was your fault? No, I didn't think so. I was just commenting on just how swell this idea of yours went."

"Okay, thanks Toph. Wanna say that without the sarcasm?"

Toph slapped a puzzled look on her face. "What's sarcasm?" Sokka was actually about to explain, but he picked up on that last little joke after Toph followed up with a mischievous smile.

Katara apparently wasn't in the mood for arguing this early. "Sokka, relax. So we're an hour or two late. Big deal. We'll get through the line and get back to Appa, and then we can get going."

"But now I'll have to change the schedule, AGAIN! Do you know how long I spent last night reworking it once?"

Katara was about to comment on how that may have been the reason why they were late in the first place, but Aang prevented her chance. "Shh! Guys, check that out."

Aang pointed his finger in the direction of a rather large group of people, walking down the street. Many of them were carrying as much as they could, and they had an air of desperation of fatigue about them.

"Now that's a darn shame." Aang and his friends looked to the man in front of them in line, a balding man who seemed to be in his mid-fifties. "More refuges. They've been coming in for a couple of days. Always seems like there's always more of them."

"War refugees?" Sokka asked, obviously confused by this comment. The last things the Fire Nation should have are refuges. THEY were the ones who pushed the Earth Kingdom so far back, until they eventually took the capital of Ba Sing Se itself.

"You four must be new in town. Otherwise you would've heard already"

"Yeah, we're from the colonies. We're visiting for the summer. So, heard what?" Aang asked. He was very curious about the whole deal. "I didn't think the Fire Nation would have refuges. They've been doing swell in the war."

"Guerilla attacks," the man explained. "Some enemy soldiers have been sneaking around and attacking us on the home front. Always pop up quickly for an attack, then gone by the time reinforcements arrive. And with a huge occupation force in the Earth Kingdom, a lot of the smaller villages don't even have much defense beyond local authorities."

"Well, you can hardly blame them. They've been pushed so far back, sneak attacks are about all they canmmmmphmph." Toph was making a quick retort, only to have her mouth covered by Sokka.

"Careful Toph," he whispered. "We don't want to get too much attention. If people think we symphonize with the enemy, we might have more trouble than we want." Sokka's point was proven, as they were already getting some stares from folk in line. Toph quickly knocked his hand away.

"No, she's right. It's war, that's all it comes down to. But this goes beyond that. I can understand attacking an army camp or a fortress, but those Waterbenders are just attacking civilians! Their villages don't even hold that much importance to the war!"

"Wait, wait, wait." Katara interrupted the man. "Did you say 'Waterbenders'"

"You didn't think I meant Earthbenders, did ya? Nah, your friend's right about them being too far pushed back to the east to attack so far in the west. But those Water Tribes to the north are plenty close enough to attack. They must've snuck by the border to the north and infiltrated the land. I guess they retreat to sea after each attack, so as to stay hidden."

"Are you sure they're Waterbenders?" Katara was just too confused by all of this. Not only was both Water Tribes not in a position to launch an attack of any kind, but attacking innocents was definitely not something she'd think her people would do.

"Well, unless Earthbenders can somehow make giant pillars of ICE tear buildings and folk alike to shreds, and can somehow leave the place dripping with WATER everywhere, I don't see any other possibility, do you?" The man gave a stern look towards Katara.

"I just…didn't think the Waterbenders were in a position to attack." Katara replied, trying to cover the shock she was experiencing.

"Guess that's why their sneak attacks work so well" Sokka gave a snide remark. While he didn't like the idea of civilians being attack, he liked the thought of his nation finally fighting back against the Firebenders. All he got for his comment was a death glare from Katara.

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Later, after the Aang gang had finally gotten all their supplies, they were making their way towards their camp, ready to make their way to the next stopping point. Along the way, Aang was noticing that Katara still wasn't taking this new too well.

"Katara, I know this must be very hard for you right now. I don't know what I would think if I my people started killing innocent bystanders." Aang said, trying to comfort her.

"It's okay Aang. I just wish I could see WHY they were attacking these villages. Why not do something meaningful and helpful for the war? If they're trying to get revenge, then that's just pointless!" Katara explained to Aang. She hated the whole idea of Waterbenders taking children's mothers away from them, just as the Firebenders did to her so long ago.

"Well, we can't do anything about it now." Sokka replied to his sister. "We have the invasion plan to worry about. Besides, I'm sure this won't stay up for long. They're probably just trying to get the Fire Nation riled up now so they can hit them harder later."

"Wait." Toph put up her hand to stop the group, then put it down to the ground in order to feel the vibrations moving through the earth. "Someone's coming. Just one guy, though. Everyone just act natural."

As the group stopped, they looked back behind them. It was a man in rags, with dirt across his face, most likely one of the many refuges they saw moving through the city earlier. He was running up towards the group at full speed. He was carrying a small bag in one hand, waving it at them as he ran up. On the way, he tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face.

Aang was a caring person, and he immediately ran up to the man to check if he was hurt too badly. When he reached the man, he asked, "You okay? You took kind of a nasty dive there."

The man got up on his knees and wiped the dirt off his face. He was fairly old, with a short, graying beard and a balding head. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, young man." He got up and presented the bag to Sokka, panting as he talked. "Here. When you were buying you things from that merchant earlier, he didn't give you back your change! I was running all the way over here to return it to you!"

"Umm…thanks?" Sokka shyly said to the man as he took the bag. The old man seemed to have a disappointed look on his face. "Sorry, it's not that I'm ungrateful. It's just, well, I kind of realized it earlier. It was only a few bronze pieces, so I didn't really care that much. And we were in a rush, so I didn't exactly have time to argue."

"I thought as much, but I just hate seeing these corrupted, filthy merchants taking advantage of strangers in a new place like that. I just wouldn't stand for it." The old man proudly explained to Sokka.

"Well, thanks. Good to see there still people like you around." Katara replied to him, more graciously than Sokka previously did.

"Not a problem. Name's Xia. Xia Sheng! Well, I better be getting back into town. Don't exactly have anything planned, but it's hot potato night over at the refuge camp, and I don't want to miss a bite!"

As he was beginning to go back, Aang quickly stopped him. "Wait, you're a refuge?"

A solemn look now replaced the proud one Xia wore a second earlier. "'Fraid so. The only remaining Sheng member from the village of Tiao. The third village attacked by those Waterbending guerillas."

Katara immediately pushed past Sokka and Toph and confronted the man. "Did you see these Waterbenders? Where did they attack you? How did you get away?"

Xia was a little surprised at the girl's enthusiasm. "Tiao's a small village, on the island closest to this one to the west of here. I was hiding at the time, so I never got a good look at 'em. But boy, I do remember the other stuff. My home, the place I built with my own hands, cut into ribbons by a flurry of water. Boy, it was like a storm full of swords was going down on my house. I'm lucky they never cut the box I was hiding in! My family wasn't even at the house, who knows where they are now, and…and…." By now, Xia was beginning to tear a bit in the eye.

Katara began to realize her mistake. "I'm..I'm sorry, Xia. I didn't mean to.."

"S'alright, my dear. What's done is done. Nothing left to do but to face it. I'm leavin' the other refuges tomorrow. I'm gonna see if what's left of Tiao is safe. Gotta check the homefront, you know? Heck, maybe there'll be a clue as to where they'd strike next! Boy, that'd sure make me a hero!"

"I understand, Xia. Good luck, and thanks again for returning our money." Aang said to Xia. He hated to admit it, but they were way behind schedule now. It was time to get going. Xia said his goodbyes as well, and was off on his way back to the village.

"Well, that sure was weird. But at least he was nice enough to give us back our money." Toph commented as they began walking back. Katara was more quiet than ever on their way back, and Toph was starting to get tired of it. "Katara, if you have a problem, just spit it out. It won't get fixed if you keep it bottled up."

Katara let out a deep sigh and faced Sokka. "Sokka, do we have time for one little detour?"

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it with this little delay and all, we ARE a few days ahead. What's on your mind?" Sokka asked her, only to realize a split second later exactly what she wanted.

"No, no, no, no, no! You can forget any ideas you had about Tiao right now!"


	3. Tiao

Tiao

Later that afternoon, Aang and his friends were preparing to leave. They were loading all of their possessions onto Appa, and were almost ready to leave for the next island in their path towards the rendezvous point for the invasion.

"Sokka, come on. You said it yourself, we have plenty of time. It won't kill you to take one lousy afternoon out of your schedule to check this place out!" Katara argued with her brother. Ever since Katara learned that innocent people were being attacked by Waterbenders here in the Fire Nation, she had been insisting her brother to allow them to go the last known place they attacked, the village of Tiao. She wanted to see if they can find these Waterbenders, and have them stop attacking the villages.

"Yes, I'm aware of that Katara, but it's just irrational to do so! Look, I think I can relate to what you want. I don't like the idea of my own people attacking innocent villages either. However, you just have to look at the facts…"

"Tiao's straight to the west of here! It's practically the same direction we're about to go anyway. It won't even take that long."

"It's still time that we could put into completing the goal we have right now, rather than just go on some wild goose chase. They attacked Tiao days ago, Katara. Even if we went there, they're long gone, and there's no telling if there's even a trail to follow. Plus, if these Waterbenders are that aggressive, something tells me it's better to just avoid them."

Aang, wanting to put his opinion in this conversation, jumped down gracefully from Appa and walked up to his two friends. "Hey, Sokka, maybe we can reach a compromise? We go to Tiao, and if we don't find anything, we just leave?"

Sokka turned to face Aang. "And what if we do find something? We take even more time out to follow a trail that we may never catch up to! The eclipse is our best hope of winning this war, Aang, and we won't take any chances on missing it."

"But…"

"No buts, Aang! I'm sorry, but I'm going to put my foot down on this one!" Noticing a disappointed look on Aang's face, Sokka turned to a more comforting tone. "I know it's not easy for you to leave people who need help, but there's no guarantee you can do anything about this, Aang. We'll help a lot more people by preparing for this invasion."

Katara spoke up again. "Can't we at least see Tiao? Look, even if there is a trail to follow, we won't do it, but I figure that just seeing that one village isn't too much."

"I don't think so. Something tells me that if there's a trail, you'll follow it anyway. The answer is no. We all need to agree on this before we do it, and I'm NOT okay with it." Sokka stabbed his sword into the ground for emphasis, and proceeded to lean on it to demonstrate that he wasn't going to budge on this.

"Yeah, who wants to go see a bunch of elite Waterbenders anyway?"

Sokka turned to look at Toph, who had pretty much stayed quiet throughout this whole debate thus far. "Elite? How do you know that?"

"Well, Sokka," Toph sat down on a rock and began picking her toes, apparently not even that interested, "what would you call a group of Waterbenders that are somehow able to appear out of nowhere, decimate a whole village, and then get out of there before reinforcements can even arrive? Waterbending isn't really a 'destructive' element, but they still manage to wipe out a whole village in the few hours, maybe even less, that it takes for back-up to arrive. Then, even after reinforcements arrive, they can never be found again, not until they attack their next target. Even if they aren't 'elite', that's talented right there."

Aang suddenly saw what Toph was trying to do. He smiled, glad to know she was on his side. "Yeah, Sokka. That certainly sounds like good Waterbenders to me. It's too bad their talents are wasted here. They could be put into so much better uses, like…," Aang brought his fingers to his chin, as if he actually needed to think on what the could do.

Katara, now in on the scheme, stated, "The invasion?"

Aang jumped up and pointed at her, "Wow, great idea Katara! I mean, how many Waterbenders do we have so far, anyway?"

"What? We got Hue and the other Swampbenders, don't we?" Sokka said, trying to argue his case.

"Weren't those the guys who you said wouldn't even wear pants?" Toph pointed out to Sokka with a smirk. Sokka fell of his sword and into the dirt. "Well, it's okay. You told me they were pretty good. I guess a little over a dozen Waterbenders is more than enough to attack the capital of the entire Fire Nation. It's a shame, but I guess those rogue Waterbenders will just have to sit this out, wasting their time on small villages than helping us take down the Fire Lord…"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Sokka picked himself up, and brushed himself off. "Fine, you guys win. We're wasting even more time arguing. Get the rest of the stuff loaded up, and we'll make a quick visit to Tiao." He turned to point at Aang and Katara. "But remember: Tiao is as far as we go. We get back on schedule, with or without a trail to follow. Now let's get going." Sokka began to climb onto Appa, with Toph, Katara, and Aang resisting to give each other a big grin.

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After a few hours of flight, Appa had finally landed at the island on which Tiao was located. Giving a bit of a growl about being left behind again, Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Katara made their way towards the remains of the village. Aang felt bad leaving Appa, but a flying bison just draws too much attention.

As they made their way along the trail, Sokka was busy looking at his map. He pointed ahead of the group. "Okay, we should be able to see Tiao right after we get over this hill."

Katara began to worry a bit. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see what her own people had done to this place. Aang, noticing her concern, put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Katara. I'm sure it can't be that bad, right?"

Toph nudged Aang to get his attention. "Twinkle Toes, I can feel it from behind the hill. I don't think it's going to be a pleasant sight."

Aang was about to protest, when he finally got to the top of the hill. His jaw dropped wide open at what he saw. Tiao was a relatively small village, about 100 meters squared area. From up on the hill, they could look directly into it. The houses were completely torn to pieces. Nothing but piles of scrap piled on top of each other. They could see salvaging teams around the village, trying to take what was left of the village for new materials. Those teams still had piles and piles of lumber to go through. It was if the village had been cut to ribbons. Even more noticeable were giant pillars of ice, penetrating through several layers of homes, structures, and, though they couldn't be sure, possibly bodies. The ice was still relatively solid, despite melting for a couple days.

Sokka continuously looked from the map to the village, and broke the silence between his friends. "Hey guys, I think this map's bad. Says here that Tiao doesn't have a river flowing through it." Toph gave a long glance at him.

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The damage was even worse up close. The debris they had all seen from up on the hill were drenched with water, and cold to be even near. They even saw some of the salvaging team members taking snow out to their metal wagons. The wagons were loaded down with ice, debris, barrels full of water, and several destroyed possessions found in the wreckage.

"This is just awful…." Katara whispered. How could her own people do this? They were proving to be no better than those Firebending monsters that took her mother away. If they ever found the Waterbenders that did this, then they'd better have a good reason for doing this. _Otherwise_, she thought, _I'll show them what an angry Waterbender is like._

Aang looked around, equally shocked by the villages' condition. He did not want to make the group feel too down, so he attempted to cheer them up at least a little. "Well, at least the Fire Nation's getting plenty of drinks…" Sokka just gave him a quick glance, then looked back at the village. _Wow, that wasn't too effective at all, was it?, _he thought.

Sokka, intrigued by Aang's joke, figured a little drink may calm him down a bit. He opened up a nearby barrel, cupped his hand, and was about to get a quick drink.

"STOP!!!!" A Fire Nation soldier from the salvaging team, noticing what Sokka was about to do, slapped Sokka's hand away from the barrel.

"What's your deal? I'm just thirsty!"

The soldier pointed at the water. "You idiot! That water's full of poison!"

"Poison?!" Katara asked him, even more shocked now than before.

The soldier looked at the water strewn out about the village. "You bet. Those dang Waterbenders…they put some kind of poison in all their water. Made sure not only that a single cut from one of those water blades would get poison in your blood stream, thus ensuring your death, but also that the water left behind would make problems, as well. They won't even let us go near the debris unless every bit of skin is covered, see?" He pointed towards some other soldiers, all fully dressed in long clothes and gloves. They even had cloths going across their faces to avoid breathing in anything dangerous.

He then turned to face them. "Now get out of here. This is a restricted operation. No civilians whatsoever."

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"Well, Katara, happy?" Sokka asked his sister. They were now walking back to Appa to continue their journey. The guards at Tiao woudn't even let them get close enough to suspect anything.

Katara only looked at her brother, and replied, "What do you think? OF COURSE I'M NOT! All I got to see was just how destructive those so-called Waterbenders are. What kind of monster uses poison on innocents? It's not even a fair fight, so why do they do it?"

Sokka shrugged, "Well, I guess we'll never know. We had a deal, sis. Go to Tiao, and then back on schedule. I doubt there was even a trail to follow in the first place."

Katara gave out a loud sigh, and proceeded to move ahead of her friends towards their camp. Aang went over to Sokka. "Sokka, you should know how hard this is on her. Okay, we'll hold up our deal, but at least be a little more sensitive on this."

"Well, maybe she should learn that things can't always go her way. She knew there was little chance of us doing anything, so I don't see what she has to be like this!"

"It's not only those Waterbenders she's upset with right now, Sokka." Aang argued. He then left Sokka and Toph to meet up with Katara.

"…man, I'm an idiot."

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As Aang and his friends got on Appa, and proceeded to fly to their next destination, Sokka moved over to the side of the saddle that Katara was currently on. "Hey, Katara, I just wanted to say…I'm sorry. I know this isn't exactly easy for you."

Katara looked over at her brother. "It's alright, Sokka. I know you didn't mean anything. It's just... not knowing WHY, you know? I wish there was some kind of excuse, some explanation as to why they're doing this. I guess this will just have to wait. You're right, the invasion comes first. That's all that matters at the moment."

"Hey, Katara, mind helping me out? We should bend a cloud as cover. We can't exactly let Appa be seen, can we?" Aang yelled out to his friend from the reins of his bison.

"Sure thing, Aang." Katara got up, and was beginning to bend the water in the air to form a cloud to cover them. Sokka was looking down at the ocean depths far below them. He always liked to get one last look in before the cloud completely blocked his view. Not that there was much to see. There was island Tiao was on, the next island over, where they had arrived last night, and small fog between them. _A view to remember,_ Sokka sarcastically thought to himself.

"Huh…" Aang said to himself.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just surprised at how fast fogs form. I don't remember seeing that down there when we left the island just a few minutes ago." Aang was looking at the same sight Sokka was, the fog obviously having caught his attention.

Sokka thought on this. Aang was right, fogs don't normally go up that fast, and they didn't see anything when they left. "Well, there were a few hills blocking our view of the ocean to the south. Maybe it snuck up from behind there and we didn't see it."

Toph turned to look at Sokka. "Sokka…the wind's been blowing south all day. I've been feeling it. There's no way a mist could move against it."

Katara stopped her bending, and the cloud almost dissipated. "No way… unless…"

Aang looked down at that fog below, "Unless something was MAKING the fog move against it."

Katara faced her brother, "….still have some spare time?"

Sokka got out his schedule, with a pen in hand, "I'll make time."

With that, Aang took the reins of Appa, directing him towards the ocean below.


End file.
